Movies About Pregnancy, Babies, and Motherhood That You Should Watch

Previously, The Pulse blogger Joan MacDonald published How Pregnancy Is Portrayed In The Movies and she concluded that the media portrayals of pregnancy and labor are dramatized for laughs or tears and such dramatization may lead to some false assumptions. But now, it’s Saturday night, and you’re cozily wrapped up in your snuggie in front of the TV. You have a huge bowl of popcorn beside your massive pregnancy water bottle and you’re ready to have some serious one-on-one TV time. What to watch?

The following is a list of 10 carefully compiled of movies on/about pregnancy, babies, and motherhood I recommend!

Happy TV time!

Juno: This movie is a heartwarming, sarcastic, give-you-all-the-feels coming-of-age teen pregnancy movie that’s sure to stick with you. Here, 16-year-old Juno gets pregnant by her pal and sort of boyfriend, Paulie, and decides to give the baby up for adoption. Hands-down one of the wittiest pregnancy movies around.

Knocked up: A one-night stand between Alison and Ben would have stayed a one-and-done thing if the duo didn’t accidentally make a baby that night. Toss this one onto the pile of silly but oh-so-enjoyable pregnancy movies: It’s heartwarming and hilarious to watch this pair of opposites (she’s a hard-working journalist, he’s a stoner) tackle the task of getting to know each other and preparing for a baby.

Baby Mama: Real-life mamas Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team up in this hilarious comedy about a single, career-oriented woman, Kate, who hires an immature, crazy lady, Angie, to be her surrogate. Angie moves in with Kate; Angie lies about being pregnant, then Angie actually gets pregnant, but it’s her own baby with her ex-husband. Honestly, being able to rest your pregnant self on the sofa and hang with this dynamic girl-power duo is enough. The cherry on top? There are some solid laughs in this silliest of pregnancy movies.

Away We Go: Itching for some indie pregnancy movies? This one’s for you. Verona and Burt are expectant parents on a zigzagging journey across the country, trying to figure out where—and how, exactly—to raise their budding family. Through each encounter with friends and family, the couple learns about what parenting skills to shore up, what to avoid and how to weed through all the kooky advice out there. In the end, it’ll make you think about what “home” really means (and offer some good laughs along the way).

What To Expect When You’re Expecting: This US comedy follows the pregnancies of a group of women, all of whom have very different experiences. From bouts of morning sickness on live television to smooth problem-free pregnancies, adoptions and accidental pregnancies, this film covers so many pregnancy and parenting topics in a light and entertaining way. You will find yourself laughing out-loud throughout, but may also shed the occasional tear during this fantastic movie.

The Business Of Being Born: If you only choose one movie on our list, make it this one. The Business of Being Born isn’t a romantic comedy or an 80’s movie, but it’s a brilliant film that all pregnant women should watch. This eye-opening documentary produced by Ricki Lake explores modern experiences of childbirth in the US (which is very similar to Australia and other countries). The film looks at natural childbirth, caesareans, inductions, homebirth, epidurals, doulas and everything in-between. The film investigates modern reliance on medicines and interventions during childbirth and looks at the impact of how birth is treated as a medical emergency rather than a natural occurrence.

Babies: A whole one hour and twenty minutes of ovary exploding baby goodness. Babies is a delightful and amusing documentary which follows the journey of four babies from four different countries. From birth, filmmakers shadowed these adorable babies, and it provided a truly intriguing look into how babies experience life so differently around the world. You’ll especially love the mischievous Mongolian baby! It’s definitely one to watch with your girlfriends — or even with other babies and toddlers around, they’ll be captivated!

The Backup Plan: Jennifer Lopez stars in this romantic comedy that follows a single woman who opts for artificial insemination and then meets the love of her life on the very same day. After a couple of dates, Lopez’s character realizes she is pregnant and expects the new man in her life to run for the hills. But he doesn’t – even when she finds she’s expecting twins. This film contains everything you could possibly want from a romantic comedy and will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Waitress: Jenna is a small-town waitress in a bad marriage who wants nothing more than to make her delicious pies with quirky names. When she finds out she’s pregnant with her deadbeat husband’s baby, she plots an escape that promptly goes awry when she falls for her hunky ob-gyn. If the hysterical names of her creations don’t get you laughing — Bad Baby Pie, anyone? — Jenna’s reaction to impending parenthood will. Yet even as she’s dragged into motherhood kicking and screaming, the sweet-and-sour mom-to-be still gives hope to those of us who are still a little freaked out about becoming a parent.

Look Who’s Talking: Last but not least. After Kirstie Alley (Mollie) falls pregnant after an affair with one of her clients, John Travolta (James) finds himself being the taxi driver who races Mollie to the hospital after her water breaks. Being mistaken as the father as he escorts Mollie into the labour ward, James finds himself wanting to be a part of Mollie and baby Mikey’s lives. There are plenty of laughs and romance, as the journey of Mollie, James and wise-cracking Mikey develop. Of course, there is a sequel, so once you’re done with this one, see Look Who’s Talking Too.

Shoshi is an undergraduate student at Stern College for Women in New York City. Her areas of interest include policy, non-profit organizations, and administration. During winter 2018, she was a White House intern. Shoshi has also interned at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and at Save the Children in New York. As a millennial, Shoshi brings a young and fresh perspective to the worlds of pregnancy and lactation.